Binance's CZ dismisses Schiff’s new gold-backed token as crypto pretender

Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, has dismissed Bitcoin-hating Peter Schiff’s new gold-backed token as another centralized product pretending to be crypto.

In a post on X, the former Binance CEO said Schiff’s tokenized gold was “not on-chain gold,” describing it instead as a “trust-me-bro” token, a digital promise that still depends on a middleman to deliver real metal someday.

The Binance founder said this is exactly why “gold coins” have failed to gain traction in the crypto world. He wrote:-

“Tokenizing gold means that you trust some third party will give you gold at some later date, even after their management changes, maybe decades later, during a war. This is the reason no ‘gold coins’ have really took off.”

Schiff renews Bitcoin attacks after launching gold token

CZ’s comment was a reaction to Schiff announcing his plan to issue a gold-backed token during an appearance on the ThreadGuy podcast.

Schiff said users will be able to buy and store gold in a vault through an app, transfer ownership on a blockchain, or redeem it for physical gold. He described it as a simpler way to spend gold digitally, complete with debit cards tied to users’ gold holdings.

The concept, according to Schiff, wants to modernize gold without losing its tangible value.

CZ’s point echoed a sentiment many in the industry share; if users have to wait on a third party to redeem an asset, it’s not blockchain, it’s banking in disguise.

During the same interview, Schiff of course once again attacked Bitcoin, repeating his tired claim that the cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value and would eventually “go to zero.” He said, “I still think it’s going to zero. What I underestimated was the gullibility of the public and the marketing savvy of those promoting it.”

Schiff called Bitcoin a “gigantic pump-and-dump” where early adopters cash out while new investors get stuck.

Schiff also warned of what he called an upcoming sovereign debt crisis that he believes will be worse than 2008. He predicted hyperinflation, a collapse in U.S. Treasury bonds, and gold soaring well beyond $4,000 per ounce.

He said the U.S. dollar’s dominance as the global reserve currency is coming to an end, claiming the world would “inevitably return to gold.”

Schiff added that foreign central banks are already reducing their U.S. Treasury holdings and replacing them with physical gold, calling it a “monetary reset” similar to what followed the Nixon shock in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, gold is not doing so hot right now. The metal lost $2.5 trillion in market value within a single day, its steepest drop in years. Gold fell 6% over two days, its worst slide since 2013, erasing more value than the equivalent of Bitcoin’s entire supply.

The plunge came right after its astounding rally earlier this year when gold surged 60%, fueled by inflation fears and global uncertainty.

By press time, spot gold had slipped to around $4,090 per ounce, retreating from recent highs on concerns that the rally had overheated. CryptoQuant analysts pointed to technical indicators showing the market was overstretched, calling it a “reset” after a massive run-up.

Even with the sell-off, gold remains up 55% this year, helped by expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a quarter point before the end of the year.

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